When somebody is brought into the emergency department with a suspected stroke, every moment matters. Even spending prolonged time getting to the hospital in an under-equipped ambulance can be time lost in the battle to save lives and to preserve as much brain functioning as possible. That is why a new study looked at telemedicine ambulances and evaluated their effectiveness. Their answer? Ambulances equipped with CT scanners and telemedicine capabilities are able to effectively address the needs of stroke victims twice as fast as traditional means.
This undoubtedly can lead to the prevention of many deaths and even prevent permanent disability in some cases. Research has shown that the timeframe between the onset of the stroke and treatment cannot exceed four and a half hours if a realistic chance of recovery is to be expected. Through the use of something called IV tPA, stroke victims have a much higher likelihood of a recovery, but this needs to be administered by a neurologist–and these doctors are not typically present in an ambulance. Through telemedicine, a neurologist can assess a stroke patient while they are en route to the hospital and help begin the procedure before the patient is actually at the hospital. Speeding up treatment time leads to more effective treatment and a better prognosis for those that have had a stroke.
When a loved one has a stroke, they often spend years, if not the rest of their lives, attempting to recover from the damage that is done. Some need lifelong supervision through some form of senior care, either in-home care, assisted living, or a nursing home. Preventing these issues or minimizing the negative repercussions will go a long way toward helping our loved ones that might be at risk of these issues to have a higher quality of life in the future. Will this prevent all issues that might occur? Certainly not. But it does present the potential of helping thousands of people, and this is something that cannot be ignored. Prevention, as it is so often said, is the best medicine. Early treatment might just be the next best thing.
For this type of telemedicine to have an impact, there would need to be a nurse, a CT technician, and a paramedic emergency technician on an ambulance crew–in addition to the driver. In many instances, this is a very realistic addition to the crew of an ambulatory team. However, not all areas would be able to accommodate this. In the city of Cleveland, this approach has already been instituted, and it has led to great results.
This approach was shown to reduce the amount of time before treatment began once the ambulance arrived from an average of 56 minutes down to 33 minutes. Again, every single minute counts when it comes to the prognosis for a stroke victim, and even this seemingly small amount of time can have a profound impact on the future quality of life for those that have had a stroke. It goes to show that you can never be too careful with the health of a loved one. If you believe that a stroke is occurring call emergency services immediately.
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